Red Raiders sweat it out vs. Exeter

EXETER — Max Medley’s block started a breakout the other way, and Jordan Dickenson’s open 3-point shot from the corner might have changed everything.

But the ball rattled in and out, Spaulding gained its bearings, and ultimately, Exeter’s rampant rally from 23 points down in the fourth quarter fell just that short.

Star junior Darian Berry scored 11 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter and the Spaulding boys basketball team escaped Exeter High School with a 66-62 win on Tuesday night.

Spaulding scored first in the fourth quarter to open a 50-27 lead. From there, the Blue Hawks closed the final 7 minutes and change on a 35-16 surge, getting as close as 64-60 with 7.7 seconds remaining.

The problem for Exeter (5-6) — and the greatest source of frustration — was that it started slow and managed just 27 points over the first three quarter combined.

“Give them credit,” Exeter coach Jeff Holmes said of the Red Raiders (6-5). “They won the game in the first half. It’s that simple. We made a good comeback, but there’s no moral victories in this game. I’m really disappointed. That first half was just terrible.”

It included a 21-6 drubbing in the first quarter, a frame in which the Raiders hit three 3-pointers and completed two three-point plays. The Raiders held a 36-17 lead at halftime and sure looked headed for a breezy win through three quarters.

Coach Tim Cronin even copped a smile at the third-quarter buzzer. A broken play wound up in the hands of junior Brock Paquette in the corner, and his forced, driving floater rattled home just in time. The score 48-27, everything was falling the Raiders’ way.

“Everybody knows,” Cronin said, “this is a game of runs. It wasn’t going to stay like that. I think we realized that.”

The Raiders needed a few reminders in the fourth quarter.

Sophomore Ben Swett, who finished with 20 points and started at point guard for Zack Holler (mono), hit a 3-pointer from the wing, and the Blue Hawks turned a couple steals into easy scores at the rim for a sudden 11-0 run.

Cronin called a timeout, but pulling up in transition, Swett drilled another 3-pointer to pull Exeter within 50-41 with 5:05 remaining. It was as close the game had been since midway through the first quarter.

“We just picked up our intensity,” said Exeter senior Charlie Austin, who came off the bench to help spark the run. “Guys got angry. We’re hungry for more wins.”

Medley’s big block came on Spaulding’s ensuing possession. It led to Dickenson’s shot from the corner that hit both sides of the rim but wouldn’t stay down.

And then the Raiders settled down. Berry hit two free throws, and a few trips later, his driving layup, plus a foul, helped bump the lead back to 17, 58-41, with 3:15 remaining.

“I could warn these guys all I want,” Cronin said of the fourth quarter, “but when it happens it’s like a tidal wave all of a sudden. Things start going bad and then it kind of snowballs into worse. But we did make some plays at the end.”

Dickenson hit a straightaway 3-pointer and Medley scored back-to-back layups to help the Blue Hawks pull back inside of 10 points down the stretch. Despite inching closer as the Raiders struggled to an 8-for-14 clip at the free-throw line over the final 2:35 of regulation, they could never force a one-possession game.

Medley finished with 13 points for the Blue Hawks and both Dickenson and Matt Vigars had nine points apiece. The game was a tale of two halves that has the Hawks searching for answers.

“A lot of it was basically the little things, like intensity, being ready,” Holmes said. “It’s disappointing from my end. I’ve got to take some blame there.”